The Indian IT eco-system could grow 10 times faster and stronger if the government did not come in its way as the deadweight of the government is holding back the brilliant talent that exists in India, Asha Jadeja Motwani, an angel investor from the Silicon Valley, has said.

“I didn’t mean politicians, who would come and go, but babus who are sitting in many important positions of power which they don’t want to give up,” said Motwani who was here last week to attend the third edition of the TiE Global Summit.

Motwani made it clear that she was not referring to regulations when she talked of government interference. Regulations are needed, even though they are a drag on growth, she said. “But why should babus, who have never done a start-up in their lifetime, should be in charge of IT. Why can’t they enlist the help of those who have demonstrated their ability by founding successful firms, such as PayTM, Ola or Flipkart while choosing start-ups that need to be supported,” she asked.

Endowment fund

At the summit, she announced the setting up of a $30 million endowment fund — Motwani Institute of Thought Leadership in Innovation (MITLI) — to promote academic exchange between Indian institutions of higher learning and Stanford.

MITLI is named after her late husband Rajeev Motwani, a former Stanford professor who mentored Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin. Its launch was announced during the third TiE Global Summit held recently in Delhi.

“If the Government is genuinely interested in taking India forward to the next phase of growth in information technology, things like Pravasi Bharti are not going to help. It has to woo investors of Indian origin. In the Valley, for instance, there are 30 such investors who can do that. If India wants to do well for its IT industry, it has to roll out red carpet to these people,” Motwani told BusinessLine . These are non-resident Indians who are investing heavily in start-ups around the world, Motwani said.

“The reason why people like Sundar Pichai are excelling in the Valley is because there is nobody to stop them. Why didn’t Google come out of India, even though it came out of an Indian mind. That is a big question,” Motwani said. According to her, China, for instance, seems to have a better regulatory system which is enabling the growth. The Indian leadership, on the other hand, works in a different way perhaps because it is afraid that it is going to lose power,

comment COMMENT NOW